Switching from Jeep Grand Cherokee to Model Y Performance - Ground clearance issues?

[MdlY55]

Hi all,

First post. I appreciate all the info you have been discussing around concerning the Tesla's. Since I've test drove a Model S, I've been waiting for the appropriate family SUV to come out of Tesla. I'v been waiting as much as I can to replace my 2011 JGC for the Cybertruck. Unfortunately, I need to change it in the following weeks as it's not being reliable enough for my work schedule. It's in and out of the garage each month even if I given it the best maintenance.

Anyhow, I came to the conclusion that I need a performance family SUV for my family with moderate towing capabilities (3500lbs is enough for 90% of the time). I was debating going for a new JGC SRT. Test drove a MYP and I'm sold. It seems as spacious as my current JGC, but without the gas guzzling engine. It does look smaller tho from the outside.
It will fit my needs as performance goes also.


I was wondering what you think about the "ground clearance" of the MYP. My current JGC is 1.5 lifted with oversized 33" tires. I don't think about potholes or if the snow cover is too much. I'm getting anxious about going to "performance rims" with those 21". We have potholes everywhere and winter lasts 4-5 months, so we do get a fair amount of snow. I'll probably go with 19" for the winter setup.

1. Was is your take on the MYP for winter driving concerning the ground clearance on unplowed streets? is it too low? From what I read, it sits at around 6.5".

2. Should I go also for winter studded tires? I currently have Hakkapeliitta Studded tires and it's marvelous on about anything winter trows at us.

I've seem the reports from some users lifting the MY, but couldn't find a similar description about this subject.

Thank you for your time and advice,
Mark

 

[Surfertom]

Model 3 owner here rear wheel drive no worries drive all winter long with snow tires
Yes get those Hakka for your Y they are on our Volvo amazing !

Model y are all 4 wheel drive so you will have even better ability than I do to start and get up hills
Jeep’s are amazing vehicles we loved our old one and any 4 WD vehicle with higher ground clearance can plow through deeper storms

That being said safe snow driving is much more about turning and braking as it is about accelerating the electronic stability control on model 3 is far better than any vehicle I have ever had. Your model y will be even better as it has 4 wheels to send power to

I tend to drive slow 40-45 mph in snowstorms on highway and I pass a lot of SUV with 4wd that are off the road after they blasted past me with false sense of security



mechanical linkages are great but nothing is faster than the Tesla for stability

I regularly try to spin out and fishtail in my work parking lot and the car refuses to budge

 

[DaveORD]

Be careful with studded tires - the instant torque of a battery electric like a Tesla could damage those if you have good traction (i.e. bare road) and you hit the accelerator pedal hard. If you do get studded, you will want to dial back your driving style and no hard acceleration to avoid damaging them. No launch control on bare pavement, etc.

 

[MdlY55]

Thank you for your comments.

I’ll be driving occasionally on country road in which in the winter, they don’t pour salt on the road and don’t plow too often. We have a fair amount of iced road and iced gravel with inclines.

Never had a problem with our Jeep going through pretty much anything. I’m hoping the Model Y isn’t too low to plow trough...

Any other experiences or comments?

thank you,

 

[Ldub22]

I would definitely get mud flaps.

Definitely for Montreal and dirt roads.

 

[im4uttx]

Clearance-wise, probably not an issue, but the 21" wheels won't take kindly to pot holes, especially if you frequently actually hit them...there just isn't much tire to prevent damage to the wheel.

 

[mswlogo]

You’re nuts going to the Performance Model.

I went from a 2017 Jeep Summit to a Model X (non Performance) after having a Model 3 Performance. Non Perf Model X is faster than a Jeep Hemi.

Model 3 (with X-Ice snow tires) was very disappointing in Snow. It is rear biased. And extremely low clearance. Y is better but not by that much. Worst AWD/4WD in the snow I’ve ever owned. Certainly good enough but not what it should be and a far cry from the Jeep. Y won’t be much better.

Model X is a beast in the snow. Front biased. Tesla OEM Performance snow tires. And tows like a dream. It does everything my Jeep needed to do. And I do use the air suspension now and then for clearance.

Hooking up safety chains on Model X is annoying though.

 

[Tiger]

Be careful with studded tires - the instant torque of a battery electric like a Tesla could damage those if you have good traction (i.e. bare road) and you hit the accelerator pedal hard. If you do get studded, you will want to dial back your driving style and no hard acceleration to avoid damaging them. No launch control on bare pavement, etc.

Nope, traction control will take care of the studs.

 

[gigawatt1010]

They’re two completely different vehicles, outside of the obvious ICE vs EV. With the air suspension, you can simulate your lift.

MY’s intended purpose is a city slicker vs the nature adventurer, go anywhere market the JGC is going for.

That said, the dual motors on Tesla’s handle the slippery stuff much better than mechanical 4WD system can. I came from the world of Rovers and still own a few. I live in a hilly area in Upstate NY so I have first hand experience. Both my MS and MX handle the steep hills better than any of my Rovers can.

Definitely switch out the 21’s for the 19’s if you can... not sure if the perf Y can fit those. But I think you’d be pleasantly surprised how good that EV dual motor is in the snow.

 

[Zcd1]

21" Uberturbines and the tires that come with are a bad idea for the type of roads you've mentioned, period.

With appropriate 19" wheels and winter tires I expect that the Y would do fine.

 

[MountainPass]

We are running 18" offroad wheels and tires on our MYP with the lift kit installed. It is a beast in the snow and we are no longer worried about bending wheels on potholes.

 

[Midnightsun]

I live in the Montreal area also. There is no way you require high ground clearance in Montreal unless you are living downtown and need to get into or out of a parking space after a fresh plow and even then it is questionable if you require more ground clearance. Montreal is the capital of salt and therefor rarely are roads iced up and I must admit they are very good with snow removal on the roads albeit it does take time to get rid of the snow banks. That being said, I would go with a good ice/snow tire combo. Studs are not allowed in most underground parking spaces and condo units as they really make a mess of the concrete. You definitely do not want these in your own garage unless you put a couple of plywood strips down to prevent damage. Studs work well on ice, period. On dry or wet asphalt they are much worse than any tire out there when it comes to traction.

 

[MdlY55]

We are running 18" offroad wheels and tires on our MYP with the lift kit installed. It is a beast in the snow and we are no longer worried about bending wheels on potholes. View attachment 618196

ahah I like your setup!

 

[MdlY55]

Thanks all for your inputs. Very much appreciated. I’m taking a leap of faith in going with the modelY. My JGC fits my needs 99% of the time for ground clearance, towing and winter. But the model y fits 90% of the needs from what I understand and completes it with the performance and, Tesla’s technology and network.
​

With the rural roads we have, I’ll will definitely benefit from those 19’’. We are outside the city. I’ll keep my choice on studded tires for the mean time as I run into iced roads very often.

I’ll look into the details of energy consumption for a lifted model Y, and studded tires I assume it doesn’t help.

 

[Jaimebond]

We are running 18" offroad wheels and tires on our MYP with the lift kit installed. It is a beast in the snow and we are no longer worried about bending wheels on potholes. View attachment 618196

Can u tell me the lift kit you used and inform regarding how badly it affects your range. Howd
You have it installed and
How much did it
Cost. Id love my y to look like a beast like yours. Thanks

 

[Itsuo-DC]

Thanks all for your inputs. Very much appreciated. I’m taking a leap of faith in going with the modelY. My JGC fits my needs 99% of the time for ground clearance, towing and winter. But the model y fits 90% of the needs from what I understand and completes it with the performance and, Tesla’s technology and network.
​

With the rural roads we have, I’ll will definitely benefit from those 19’’. We are outside the city. I’ll keep my choice on studded tires for the mean time as I run into iced roads very often.

I’ll look into the details of energy consumption for a lifted model Y, and studded tires I assume it doesn’t help.

Quick discussion of studded vs. non-studded winter tires in this silly YT vid. (Starts around 2:40.)

 

[IdahoRenegade]

They’re two completely different vehicles, outside of the obvious ICE vs EV. With the air suspension, you can simulate your lift.

MY’s intended purpose is a city slicker vs the nature adventurer, go anywhere market the JGC is going for.

That said, the dual motors on Tesla’s handle the slippery stuff much better than mechanical 4WD system can. I came from the world of Rovers and still own a few. I live in a hilly area in Upstate NY so I have first hand experience. Both my MS and MX handle the steep hills better than any of my Rovers can.

Definitely switch out the 21’s for the 19’s if you can... not sure if the perf Y can fit those. But I think you’d be pleasantly surprised how good that EV dual motor is in the snow.

That's an issue I have with Tesla referring to the Y as a "SUV". The U part of that is utility, and implies some degree of off-road capability. It's a hatchback, not an SUV, in my mind. Not that that's a bad thing, I'd still like one.

 

[Midnightsun]

That's an issue I have with Tesla referring to the Y as a "SUV". The U part of that is utility, and implies some degree of off-road capability. It's a hatchback, not an SUV, in my mind. Not that that's a bad thing, I'd still like one

The term SUV did mean other things in the past however everything wants to be an SUV today because this is what sells. Higher seating height and a large hatch is all one needs to be considered a SUV today, don't even need to have AWD. Ground clearance, give me a break, 1 " more than a model 3 sedan. Everyone knows exactly what they are buying when one buys a Y but have the bragging rights of calling it an SUV because it is marketed as such, a more appropriate terminology would be a crossover and even that is pushing it IMHO. A hatchback with AWD and increased seat height is what the Y is at the end of the day.

 

[ETuesta]

I have a MYP and I definitely don't see the car as an SUV. Even though it is listed as SUV I really don't see it at all and I feel that coming from a jeep will be a big difference. Space wise there is plenty of room so no issues there but the MYP definitely will feel more "fragile" on country muddy roads.

 

[KirillK]

Found this thread while I tried to identify the ground clearance for Model Y Performance by doing Google seath. It was quicker to go to the garage and measure it myself

As a person who switched from Dodge Durango (which is pretty the same vehicle as Jeep Grand Cherokee, just with different design and 3rd row seats), I don't see Model Y Performance as an SUV. More like a regular car with a big trunk. It doesn't handle as an SUV (more like a sports car, which was I reason why I bought it), and it is super uncomfortable offroad. On Durango I was just going 40-50mph on forest trails without worrying about anything, here I'm going 20mph, otherwise I'm afraid to damage the wheels, front bumper, and it is so shaky inside that I'm not having fun at all.

However, my situation is unique since I have an offroad truck in my garage that I'm using to go outside of any paved roads. Takin Model Y was more like an experiment to understand what the vehicle is capable of. Can it do over deep snow with winter tires? Maybe. Can it go offroad? Yes, on trails that some Prius drivers take slowly. But it is not comparable with Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk for that purpose, and these are just so different vehicles (I like both btw).

Most of the trails in my area require 8 inch of ground clearance. Model Y Performance has around 6. Maybe you can make it, but it will an abuse that doesn't worth it. Great performance SUV though.